LOGAN -- Perhaps it's a good time for the Aggies to jump out of the WAC, at least for a week.
Utah State (13-13) will continue its season-long five-game homestand with a non-conference game against Montana Tech (11-11) tonight, then follow it up with an ESPN Bracketbuster game against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.
Both games are set for 7 p.m. in the Smith Spectrum.
The Aggies dropped a home conference battle on Saturday to New Mexico State, a game the Aggies were until the final minutes.
"They turned up the heat a little bit with their athleticism, and we couldn't get anything done," Stew Morrill said after the game. "It's disappointing because it just keeps happening, with three or four minutes to go we are right there, we are in a position where we can win and we don't make plays."
USU is led by sophomore guard Preston Medlin who is averaging 15.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Senior guard Brockeith Pane is averaging 11.8 points and 3.9 assists, while junior forward Kyisean Reed is averaging 10.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.
Montana Tech, an NAIA team out of Butte, Mont., is 11-11 on the season following a 63-55 home win against Montana State-Northern in its last game. The Orediggers, are led by freshman guard/forward Adam Greger who is averaging 12.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Montana Tech played Utah Valley Monday night in an exhibition contest.
* 4 AT MONTANA STATE CITED WITH MISDEMEANORS: Four Montana State University athletes have been cited with misdemeanors after an incident that sent basketball player Xavier Blount to the hospital.
Police were called around 1:15 a.m. Sunday to a Bozeman, Mont., bar where a bouncer said a man was found barely conscious on the back porch.
Details are sketchy, but the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports Blount was cited with disorderly conduct and being a minor with alcohol. Bobcats linebacker Roger Trammell was cited with misdemeanor assault. Sprinter Christopher Wilson was cited with disorderly conduct and unlawful use of a driver's license. Defensive tackle Zach Minter was cited with unlawful use of a driver's license.
Blount's stepfather says Blount had shoulder and facial injuries. Montana State sports information director Bill Lamberty says the injuries could end Blount's season.
* KENTUCKY STAYS RUNAWAY NO. 1 IN AP TOP 25 POLL: Kentucky and Syracuse remain Nos. 1 and 2 in The Associated Press' Top 25, and Wichita State and Notre Dame are ranked for the first time this season.
The Wildcats received 63 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel on Monday, while the Orange got the others.
Missouri moves up one spot to third and is followed by Kansas, Duke, Ohio State, Michigan State, North Carolina, Baylor and Georgetown.
Notre Dame, winners of six straight and ranked as high as fourth last season, is No. 23. Wichita State, which has won 12 of 13 and is ranked for the first time since 2007, and Gonzaga, which returns after being out for one week, are tied for 24th.
Creighton, losers of three straight, dropped out from 17th. Mississippi State fell out from 20th and Harvard from 25th.
* BAYLOR STILL NO. 1 IN AP WOMEN'S BASKETBALL POLL: After a crazy week in which 15 of the Top 25 teams lost, Baylor remains the unanimous No. 1 choice in The Associated Press women's college basketball poll.
The Lady Bears received all the first-place votes Monday for the 11th straight week after routing Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Baylor, the lone remaining unbeaten team, plays Oklahoma State and Texas Tech this week.
Connecticut moved up a spot to second after Notre Dame lost to West Virginia. The Huskies visit the Sooners on Monday night.
Stanford was third followed by the Irish, who dropped two spots to fourth, and Duke. Miami, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio State and Delaware rounded out the first 10.
Wisconsin-Green Bay fell two places to 11th after its first loss. Penn State made the biggest jump, climbing six places to 12th. No. 23 BYU and No. 24 DePaul re-entered the rankings. Gonzaga and North Carolina fell out.
Top 25
* NO. 2 SYRACUSE 52, NO. 19 LOUISVILLE 51: At Louisville, Ky., C.J. Fair scored 13 points and No. 2 Syracuse scored the final six points of the game to beat No. 19 Louisville, snapping a seven-game losing streak against the Cardinals.
Syracuse (26-1, 13-1 Big East) held the Cardinals (20-6, 8-5) without a point over the final 3 1/2 minutes and Fair hit the go-ahead layup with 2:11 left.
Fab Melo scored 11 points and the best shooting team in the Big East overcame a 34.4 percent effort, including 1 of 15 from 3-point range, to win for the sixth straight time since losing at Notre Dame.
Freshman Chane Behanan had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Cardinals, who had won six straight conference games.
The Orange came in shooting 48.1 this season, while the Cardinals' defensive field goal percentage was fourth-best in the nation at 37.2.
* NO. 4 KANSAS 59, KANSAS STATE 53: At Manhattan, Kan., Tyshawn Taylor had 20 points and Jeff Withey added 18 points and 11 rebounds for Kansas, which is alone in first place in the Big 12.
The Jayawks (21-5, 11-2) won for the 36th time in their last 39 games against the Interstate 70 rival.
Jamar Samuels had a season-high 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats (17-8, 6-7).
The Wildcats briefly pulled ahead midway through the second half, and were within 55-51 when Rodney McGruder knocked down a jumper with 1:14 left. But they came up empty on their next three trips, unable to take advantage of the Jayhawks' balky foul shooting.
McGruder finished with 12 points for Kansas State, while Will Spradling had 10. The Jayhawks used a big first-half run en route to a 67-49 win last month.
* NO. 9 BAYLOR 79, IOWA STATE 64: At Waco, Texas, Perry Jones III scored 18 points and Baylor rebounded from consecutive losses.
Jones already had 10 points by halftime, one more than he had combined last week when Baylor (22-4, 9-4 Big 12) lost to No. 4 Kansas and No. 3 Missouri for the second time in four weeks. The Bears are undefeated against the rest of the Big 12 and everybody else they have played.
Melvin Ejim had 17 points to lead Iowa State (18-8, 8-5).
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